Various portable electronic devices (e.g., such as smart phones, cell phones, tablets, etc.) utilize power provided by batteries and typically provide interfaces for recharging their batteries. Users have many options to charge their portable devices by coupling via USB ports to chargers or charging devices (e.g., such as computers, hubs, docking stations, wall chargers, car chargers, etc.). Some types of popular battery charging interfaces may be related to a given battery charging specification. Typically, better user experience is defined by shorter charging times. To this end some battery charging specifications define limits and control mechanisms to permit charging devices and portable devices to operate at currents and voltages in excess of the limits specified in a Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification, e.g., such as the USB Specification Revision 2.0 (published by USB-IF on Apr. 27, 2000). Some examples of such battery charging devices are defined in the Battery Charging Specification, Revision 1.2 (published on Dec. 7, 2010) (“BC1.2 Spec”), as well as in several proprietary specifications provided by various portable device manufacturers.
The existence in the market of different charging devices, however, presents various problems for users of portable devices. For example, when a portable device is connected to a charging device which does not correspond to its respective charging specification, the device may charge below the maximum limits allowed by the device's charging device, the device may not charge fully, or the device may not charge at all, thereby lowering the user experience.